The Divided Kingdom

By Carman Bradley

Many former
homosexuals tell us that there is only one genuine reason that they have been
successful: they have abandoned homosexuality in obedience to God’s Word. They see changing their homosexuality as a
side effect of an even bigger goal: being conformed to the image of Jesus
Christ. One former homosexual said, ‘My
prayer since the day I entered ex-gay ministry has been the same: ‘Lord, make
me into the man of God that you created me to be.’ This man, now married for fifteen years, did not come into
counseling with the primary goal of becoming straight. He wanted to experience life in all its
richness, as Jesus promised in Scriptures: ‘I have come that you might have life,
and have it to the full.’ (John 10:10)[i]

Bob Davies with Lela Gilbert, ‘Portraits of Freedom’

I worked with Jay for
over a year. In that time I witnessed a
miracle. He ended all homosexual
behavior. But even more, he had experienced
tremendous inner healing and renewal.
He had grown in his self-esteem and self-image. Most amazingly, his heterosexuality had
stirred in him. He became interested in
women. ‘Lord,’ I hesitantly prayed,
‘You are wonderful. How glorious are
Your ways. Now, Lord, I have a little
request; would You just send me one more person to see if You and I can do it
again?’ That was ten years ago. Almost 100 clients later I have seen the
Lord continue to perform the miracle of transformed lives. That’s what this book is about.[ii]

Dr. William Consiglio, ‘Homosexual
No More’

Every kingdom divided
against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against
itself will not stand (Matthew 12:25).

Christ
can not be both liberating oppressed gays and lesbians into a “blessed” gay,
bisexual, lesbian, transsexual, or queer (GBLTQ) lifestyle - sanctifying gay
ordination, consecrating gay marriage, approving of non-marital sex before,
during and after union, codifying oral and anal sex as divine design, and
permitting experimental sex to find God’s sexual calling for each of His
children; while He is also clearly delivering gays and lesbians from what God
has declared in scripture as an “abomination” in His eyes. Logic, whether secular or Scriptural-based,
tells us that one group of Christians is blind to the truth. Pro-gay and gay Christians can no longer
deny the “scientific” facts and “spiritual” testimonial realities of
reorientation. Bailey’s invert theory
and the gay gene theory, used to disregard orthodox Christian theology, have
been discredited. Moreover, in an open,
democratic and pluralistic society, the publicizing of reorientation cannot be
labeled a hate crime or homophobic.

Exodus
International, typical of many ex-gay ministries, began as a sovereign move of
God. In the early to mid-1970s,
Christian ministries to men and women struggling with unwanted homosexual
feelings sprang up spontaneously all over North America and overseas. In 1967, Roberta Laurila had a spiritual
vision that one day there would be a worldwide network of ministries to help
homosexuals come out of that lifestyle.
She sensed God speaking to her: “If you’ll leave your situation, I’ll
use you mightily.” Roberta was
living with her lover, but three weeks later she left. She began praying daily for God to raise up
counselors throughout the world. Nine
years later, Exodus began.

The
general consensus among Exodus leaders is that temptation is not sin (Hebrews
4:15), but the homosexual orientation is an expression of humanity’s sinfulness
– and cannot comfortably co-exist within the context of a total commitment to
Jesus Christ. In 1987, Alan Medinger
described the calling:

’We are in a spiritual
battle of staggering proportions,’ he told over 200 delegates from 45 different
Exodus ministries. ‘Until now, widespread
church support for redemptive ministry to homosexuals has been lacking, but
AIDS is changing that. Voices in the
church previously speaking out in defence of the homosexual lifestyle are now
strangely silent.’ During the early
1980s, Exodus ministries had noticed a growing disinterest in the church over
the issue of homosexuality. Multiple
books on the subject had poured off the evangelical presses in the late ‘70s,
then there was silence. During that
same time period, the theology of homosexual behavior had been fervently
debated in mainline denominations, then most of the committees had turned their
attention to other ‘urgent’ issues of the day.
Then came AIDS. Suddenly, the
topic of homosexuality was of crucial concern again. Pastors around the nation were shocked to discover that members
of their church had been infected with the AIDS virus, mostly through
homosexual activities. The problem of
homosexuality – even in conservative churches – could no longer be ignored.[iii]

So
the AIDS issue created a new wave of interest in ex-gay ministry. According to Bob Davies, attendance at the
annual Exodus conference climbed to 200, then 300; by 1989, over 400 delegates
were present. In response the gay
Christian movement did not take long to develop its own hostile offensive. Fundamental to its identity were two
beliefs. First, homosexuality is not
unbiblical and therefore, the movement could claim legitimacy. Second, homosexuals can’t change, even if
they want to. The necessity for the
second belief was less obvious, but crucial.
An unwavering belief among orthodox Christians is that homosexuals, like
all sinners, need to repent. Having
repented of their sin, Christ will enable them by His grace to lead Godly lives
without indulging in homosexual practices.
It was - and is – vital to the GBLTQ Christian movement’s success that
it convince everyone, especially its critics, that homosexuality simply cannot
be repented of, any more than skin color or gender can be abandoned.[iv]

Exodus
International, a coalition of ministries dedicated to helping people overcome
homosexuality, had for almost two decades been proclaiming a message in direct
opposition to the gay Christian movement: that homosexuality was a sin, and
that Christ could free the homosexual.
No message could be more intolerable to the gay Christian movement, and
in the mid-1980s they determined it had to be silenced. In 1989 Reverend Sylvia
Pennington, whose career was devoted to assuring gay Christians that their
behavior was acceptable to God, released her scorching analysis of the “ex-gay
movement” titled Ex-Gays? “There Are
None!” By compiling stories of
women and men who had tried to change from homosexuals to heterosexuals
(through Exodus and similar ministries), Pennington argued that anyone
attempting to “go straight” was doomed to failure. Her book, the first published broadside against Exodus
ministries, threw down the gauntlet from the gay Christian movement to any
Christians who claimed to have overcome homosexuality. Debates between “Christian gays” and
“ex-gays” were soon commonplace on talk shows and in print.[v] However, the paradox for pro-gay and gay Christians is captured in
this letter:

Dear Sirs:

I understand that you
are considering the ordination of professing homosexuals. Please would you consider my testimony
before deciding.

I grew up in the
United Presbyterian Church. It was
there that I came to know and to love the Lord Jesus Christ. At age 12 I asked God to fill me with His
Holy Spirit. I am sure that He
did. Still, while in college I was
drawn into relationship with another woman.
I felt great about it at first; my sexual desires were being met, and I
was still very much into filling the desires of the flesh.

It was six years
before the Holy Spirit began convicting me, slowly, gently at first, then more
and more powerfully until I could live with myself no longer. I went to my minister and confessed the
whole thing….The Lord gave me a Scripture at the time. It was Revelation 21:5, ‘Behold I make all
things new.’ He continues to renew our
lives daily, and therefore I recognize in this other person a ‘new creature in
Christ Jesus.’ Praise God! I cannot thank Him enough for lifting me out
of the mire and setting me once again on solid ground.

Homosexuality is a
dead end. While I was so busy
gratifying the desires of my flesh it was impossible for God to give me the
desires of my heart. Now He is free to
do so. I have dated several young men
in the past year, and have enjoyed each date.
There has been fellowship and sharing about the Lord Jesus Christ. In addition I have a joy I could not
experience before. I can once again
look forward to getting married.

God wants the best for
us. Let’s not settle for second
best. God bless you in your decision.